NU girls charge PhD guide with mental harassment

Two girls from Nagpur University's physics department pursuing doctor of philosophy (PhD) have lodged a complaint of alleged mental harassment and threatening by their guide, a senior lecturer, sources informed. Sources alleged that as many as 12 such complaints were lodged in the current academic session with NU but it was not confirmed by the officials.

Students have talked of exploitation of research students by their guides in hushed tones but until now nothing has ever come on record. These two girls lodged their complaint with vice-chancellor Vilas Sapkal about a week back but he is yet to take any action on the complaint. The lecturer has denied the charge.

NU's PRO Sanjay Bahekar failed to give a reply or comments in this regard as usual, directing the query towards registrar Mahesh Yenkie. Yenkie confirmed that complaints had indeed been made. "We did receive a complaint in this regard, but we need to hear his (lecturer's) side as well. Only on the basis of one complaint we can't act. Action will be taken after confirming all the facts," Yenkie told TOI.

According to girls, their guide kept on abusing them for no reason. "He keeps on threatening us for our lives and also to cancel our fellowships," one of the dejected students told TOI on the condition of anonymity. Not just that, the senior lecturer had once thrown their bags out of the laboratories when the girls resisted his advances and used abusive language while shouting to them asking them to leave the premises, she claimed. She added that the senior lecturer allegedly demanded a blank cheque from them and warned them he would not allow them to make their PhD submissions.

The said lecturer submitted his reply to Sapkal on Thursday pleading innocence and termed the entire episode as a result of "internal politics" to malign him. "This is a big fraud and an effort to defame me. There are many other girls pursuing their PhD under my guidance apart from these two and they don't have any problems. I am very senior in this profession and never experienced such situation," the lecturer told TOI. He added that the girls had given no evidence to substantiate of their charges.